Local Government

The future of self-driving cars is upon us, and the North Carolina General Assembly is, well, paving the way. With a bipartisan and near-unanimous vote during the short session, our state legislature passed House Bill 469 into law, regulating the operation of fully autonomous vehicles — if and when they become available in our state. […]

After the events in Charlotte over the past few days, there is a renewed interest in North Carolina’s laws regarding the release of police video camera footage. Although we first covered the issue in this August 1 article, there remains considerable misinformation being spread by some folks on social media. The left is pushing a […]

Revenues for the current year are projected to finish $330 million above initial budget projections, according to the latest figures released by the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management and the legislature’s nonpartisan Fiscal Research Division. The latest revenue forecast also boosts projections for FY 2016-17 by $231 million above the certified budget. […]

With the passage of a new law this year, your privacy will now be better protected when registering your security alarm system with local law enforcement. House Bill 797 would exempt from the definition of “public record” any registration or sensitive security information received or compiled by a city that has an alarm registration ordinance […]

[youtube_sc url=”https://youtu.be/sUboVRz6yS8″ width=”590″ modestbranding=”1″ autohide=”1″ fs=”1″ border=”1″ hd=”1″] “…sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” — Justice Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) A little-noticed provision of this year’s state budget that requires all state agencies, county and city governments, and each of North Carolina’s 115 school districts to make all of their annual budget […]

In a move that’s sure to please government watchdogs and policy geeks of every stripe is an amendment to this year’s proposed 2016-2016 budget requiring all state agencies and each administrative subdivision of the state (this includes each county, city, town, and village government entity and each of the state’s 115 school districts) to consolidate […]

Governor Pat McCrory’s office announced yesterday that the Governor has signed the following pieces of legislation into law: House Bill 552 – A bill creating the criminal offence of graffiti vandalism (more information on the bill here). House Bill 574 – A bill providing that no state or local statues, rules, regulations or ordinances related to […]

Today the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation limiting when a county or municipality may enact zoning ordinances to control design and aesthetics of private property. Senate Bill 25, just approved by a vote of 98 to 17, now heads to the Governor’s desk for his signature. “Government does not have the authority to tell homeowners […]

“How many fiddle players does it take to eat a possum? Two — one to eat it and one to watch for cars.” These days, being an opossum in North Carolina comes with a lot of attention — from lawmakers, animal rights activists, and even Superior Court judges. Besides being the official state marsupial (we’re not […]

[youtube_sc url=”https://youtu.be/wwwHIg22Uk0″ width=”590″ modestbranding=”1″ autohide=”1″ fs=”1″ border=”1″ hd=”1″] Cruise around any urban neighborhood in America and you’re likely to see ample evidence of graffiti vandalism. In fact, it’s a growing problem in many cities across the country, including here in North Carolina. Last year, for example, the City of Asheville reported over 10,000 cases — […]